reprise of "nature of female athletes"

[mikegarrison]

seattlepi.nwsource.com/olympics/375976_thiel22.html

There was a trhead on this board about Hope Solo that asked if the nature of female athletes is changing. Thiel argues in this column that it is, that the days of elite women athletes being more concerned about bonding than performance is on its way out.

Have we seen any evidence of this in volleyball? How important is team chemistry, and does that chemistry have to be friendly in order to be effective?

Of course, Solo does play goalie, which is about as isolated a position as there is in soccer anyway. I don't think there is a position on the volleyball court that is as independent of the rest of the team as goalie is in soccer.

[Phaedrus]

Watch the NBC interview with Kim Glass after the Cuba match. She said the turning point came after the first Cuba match, that they had come to Beijing playing as individuals and that match changed their perspective. I am not sure how her team mates feel about that train of thought, but I believe it is true in this instance. I think the change in team ethos is palpable as the women's team have progressed through the tournament. Even though the people who are on the Olympic team are mostly the same people from the WGP team , the team is different. So, I think bonding will always be a part of the female athlete, it will be interesting to see how this all evolves as time goes on because of the changing picture of female athletics. Maybe soccer is different from the rest of the sports.

[mikegarrison]

I tried to make a distinction between "team chemistry" and team bonding. I think team chemistry is important in any team. Players have to know and trust each other on the field. "In situation X, she always goes to the left." "If I do my job, she'll do hers." Stuff like that.

What I'm wondering about is whether it's a big deal that they bond together in any other capacity. For instance, there have been some legendary cases of male pro athletes who couldn't stand their teammates but performed with them very well. Is that possible with women? Thiel is suggesting that as women's elite/pro sports become more and more like men's, that this "bonding" thing is going to be less and less vital.

Then again, some male teams seem to respond very well to "bonding" too, so it may be a case of there really being no hard and fast rules, and people are just seeing patterns that they have been conditioned to see.

[cruncher]

This article is 10 years old, but it provides a lot of insight into team dynamics and optimal coaching styles for women athletes.
volleyball.stormhawk.org/Kathy-Deboer-Coaching-Volleyball-Article-FebMar-1998.pdf

It caused me to re-think my approach to coaching and leading female athletes and business associates.

[Phaedrus]

Whoa, not so great picture of Kathy Deboer. Interesting article though. Thanks.